KBH Praises Clinton While Campaign Hits Palin

Is Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison being hypocritical?

Sen. Hutchison appeared in Dallas with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to celebrate women -- while at the same time her campaign was embroiled in a controversy regarding an attack on Governor Sarah Palin -- who has endorsed Governor Rick Perry's re-election campaign.

The Fort Worth Star Telegram reported on Hutchison's recent praise of Clinton:

"Hutchison, a Republican, described Clinton's performance as a presidential candidate as an inspiration to women everywhere.

It is the hardest thing for us to do, to just be completely devastated and never let it show on your face, and that is what you did.

It is a great example for everyone," Hutchison said.

But on the day she praised a liberal woman for her courage, Redstate.com's Josh Painter pointed out that KBH's campaign website posted a copy of an editorial by the Texarkana Gazette slamming Sarah Palin:

"Palin has a certain cachet among conservatives. ... But Lord, have mercy, she is an outsider with an opinion about Texas politics and government. And she sounds like the Yankee she is, if we use the definition that Yankees come from north of the Red River.

If Perry relies too heavily on Palin, he may find himself with a lot of time to watch Russians from her front porch come January 2011."

Painter writes:

"The Hutchison people erred in putting such a poorly-conceived and ill-informed hit piece on their site. Calling Palin an "outsider" and a "yankee" is just myopic provincialism at best, and the digs at Palin, who is governor of a state which, like Texas, has a strong libertarian streak is risky. Texans and Alaskans both pride themselves on their spirit of rugged individualism, and slamming Palin in a state where conservatives admire and respect her isn't the smartest of moves for KBH's proto-campaign for governor to take.

I'm not sure that Hutchison would want to be associated with the remark about Gov. Palin's front porch, either. She never said that you could see Russia from her house. That was a Tina Fey joke on Saturday Night Live which the left has made into one of its memes, routinely tossed out when attacking the former GOP vice presidential candidate. For the Senator, associating herself with an outright falsehood and - even worse - with leftist anti-Palin memes only serves to drive home the point that KBH isn't even remotely as conservative as is Gov. Perry."

Time will tell, but these tactics on the part of Hutchison's forces only appear to help Rick Perry. Bad career move, Senator."

A Republican Senator allowing her campaign to be perceived as attacking a fellow Republican Governor is problematic enough, but hamming it up with Hillary Clinton while attacking Sarah Palin is indeed a troubling gaffe.

I've previously pointed out Hutchison's problems with a growing number of Texas conservatives. Now add her praise of liberal Hillary Clinton -- compounded with her campaign's aiding in the attacks of a conservative Sarah Palin – to the list.